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Truth Or Date
Truth or Date was the 2nd episode of the 5th No Place Like Holmes Series. The 22-minute episode originally ran in two parts between 31st October to 1st November 2015. It directly follows the events of the previous episode "The Sign of Things to Come". The episode starts with Miss Blake dragging Holmes and Watson speed-dating. The event is not hugely successful for the trio as everything Watson says is taken as poorly disguised innuendo, Miss Blake talks far too much, and Holmes does not want to be there. Eventually Holmes slips away to attend the pre-arranged dinner-date he has with Madeline Chambers that was made in the previous episode "The Sign Of Things To Come". Madeline confronts Holmes with the diaries of her ancestors, Professor Moriarty and Gwendolyn Chambers, which forces Holmes to admit she is correct, he is the Sherlock Holmes mentioned in the diaries, and he is indeed from the 19th Century. Holmes proceeds to explain his back story to Madeline, and how the Demonic curse by Sir Hugo Baskerville lead him to coming to the 21st Century. Madeline is amazed by the story and promises to keep it a secret so long she has diplomatic criminal immunity from any of Holmes investigations. Holmes agrees to this remarking that Madeline is not a very prolific criminal and this shouldn't be an issue. Meanwhile, Miss Blake has returned home upset that nobody picked her on the speed-dating and proceeds to drown her sorrow with wine. Watson returns shortly after and confesses he was just as unlucky as she was and the two strike up another conversation. Watson apologises again for having not told Miss Blake about his previous three marriages, but that he did not think that Miss Blake cared about his relationship status past or present. Miss Blake brushes this remark away that she does not, but it hurts her trust in him as a friend. She jokes that she thought Holmes was the dark horse, not Watson, as it took him a year to even get around to mentioning his brother Mycroft. This remark leaves Watson feeling very uneasy, as he too never mentioned his brother Harry to her. Back at the restaurant, Madeline has just returned from the toilet, but before she can continue her conversation with Holmes the waiter, Luigi Tagliatelli, bursts in announcing that someone has stolen the tip jars. He begs Holmes to help him find them and though a little thrown, agrees to do so. Meanwhile, Watson has just confessed he did actually have a brother, Harry, which makes Miss Blake furious that Watson failed to mention this to. Watson tries to defend himself by saying that Harry is a sore subject, and that he does not like to think about him let alone talk about him. A flashback then ensues from 1879 which highlights how Harry was a broken, drunken wreck with an obvious alcohol problem. Miss Blake continues to berate Watson until she passes out from the amount of alcohol she has consumed. Much like he did to his brother over 100 years prior. Watson picks up Miss Blake and places her on the sofa, covering her in a blanket for the night. Miss Blake mumbles the same words that Harry also said to John "I didn't mean what I said earlier, it was just the drink talking". Returning to the search in the restaurant Cloakroom, Holmes notices that Madeline has a number of strange marks on her hand. Once he sees these, he suggests they have done enough and should just go back and order their dinner now. Once they return to the dining room and choose their orders, Holmes remarks it is ironic Madeline has chosen number 8, a lucky number in China. When Madeline questions why, Holmes goes on to explain that it has not really worked out for her this evening, and then goes on to unravel how he knows Madeline has taken the tip jars. Holmes explains that the timing of the theft occurs just after Madeline went to the toilets, and that upon her hand is a frostbite, a cut, and a purple stain. Holmes reminds Madeline that Luigi had mentioned the tip jars were stored in a freezer, a knife draw, and a preserves cupboard respectively - the purple mark being from a beetroot strain. Holmes then calls for Luigi to return, which he does immediately, and then proceeds to explain who was behind the theft. However, before Holmes can oust Madeline, she makes a grab for his hand, a move that stuns Holmes, and wills him with her eye's of their agreement - he is not supposed to bring Madeline to justice for any crimes he knows she commits. Holmes is torn, but relents, explaining to Luigi he does not know after all. In that instance, Holmes, and Madeline both realise the power is very much in her hands. Satisfied Holmes won't tell on her, she gets up to go, but not before reminding Holmes "don't forget to leave a good tip". She then departs, leaving a furious Holmes tearing up the menu, and then gets up to leave himself.